


Chocolate Magic

by exmachinarium



Category: Howl Series - Diana Wynne Jones, Howl no Ugoku Shiro | Howl's Moving Castle
Genre: Gen, book/film mash-up
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-08-26
Updated: 2012-08-26
Packaged: 2017-11-12 23:00:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 704
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/496621
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/exmachinarium/pseuds/exmachinarium
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>One of the perks of being the oldest of three siblings was, one inevitably learnt not only to recognize the symptoms of incoming mood swings, but also to apply suitable remedies in the nick of time. One of the perks of having a powerful and, consequently, powerfully neurotic wizard for employer was, recognizing a temper tantrum in its wake was a child's play.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Chocolate Magic

**Author's Note:**

> Yet another request from the LJ drabble meme; the prompt was 'chocolate', and to tell you the truth, I had a hard time coming up with something suitable (not to mention writing a female character for the first time in a longer while was... A little troublesome). But then, I managed to pull the right string in my mind - which turned out a mix of the film _Chocolat_ and my own experience - and there it was! Oh, and one more thing: at that time my friend had not yet read the book, so it's a mix of book- and movie-verse, leaning more strongly on the former, though. I hope.

One of the perks of being the oldest of three siblings was, one inevitably learnt not only to recognize the symptoms of incoming mood swings, but also to apply suitable remedies in the nick of time.

One of the perks of having a powerful and, consequently, powerfully neurotic wizard for employer was, recognizing a temper tantrum in its wake was a child's play. Howl never made any secret of it; Sophie at times had even an uncanny impression that he truly relished in this (mostly self-inflicted) misery - to the extreme annoyance of the general household.

Any other day Sophie would simply lash out at the wizard, green slime and demon summoning be damned; but Michael's pained expression coaxed her into finding a subtler way of tackling the problem. She nudged the boy, sitting next to her at the table and trying to figure out another spell, and asked whether they had some powdered chocolate left. She didn't even bother with lowering her voice - when depressed, Howl was practically dead to the world.

"There should be some in that old coffee can, the one with a peacock on the lid, but... Whatever you're trying to do, I don't think it'll work, Sophie," he cast another agonized glance towards his mentor.

Sophie shook her head; Michael was definitely too mild-mannered to be Howl's apprentice. He'd never stand up to the man...!

"Leave it to grandma Sophie," she winked at him slyly, then moved to the cupboard and, after a bit of a struggle, dragged out the desired peacock coffee can. Satisfied with its contents, she decided to do another charitable thing and turned back to her young aide with a broad smile.

"By the way, Michael, we've ran out of soap and onions, would you be so kind to fetch some?"

The boy was out the door sooner than his "Will do!" dissolved into silence. Sophie waved him goodbye, then set out to work herself; measuring out five spoonfuls of chocolate, heating up milk (with Calcifer too surprised and confused to complain), and finally mixing both ingredients vigorously in a big, sturdy mug. But when her work was almost done, she paused and reconsidered. 

Too much sweetness would probably make Howl's attitude even worse to bear; what he truly needed, Sophie’s big sister instinct supplied, was a solid kick that'd bring him out of his melancholy and back into life. With this thought in mind, she mixed in some chilli before finally declaring her treat ready.

Throughout her preparations, the brooding target of Sophie's mission didn't pay any attention to what was happening right behind his slumped back, too busy treating the castle to a concerto of sighs and moans. Only when a mug of steaming hot liquid was forcefully pressed into his hands did he realize something was actually going on. He flinched, then gazed at his housekeeper wearily.

"Why are you disturbing me, Sophie? Can't you see I'm busy? And... What is this, anyway?"

"You're not busy - you're _moody_ , that's for one thing. And this," the old woman gazed at Howl sternly, "This is my magic potion. I'm a witch after all."

The wizard all but rolled eyes at that, yet any comment died on his lips when he spotted that particular spark in Sophie's eyes. It was the flash of determination that, in his housekeeper's case at least, resisted all arguments and prevailed until the goal Sophie had in mind was achieved. _Always_.

Feeling defeated - and greatly irritated by that fact, Howl decided to humour the old woman. Before she managed to utter another word, the wizard drained the whole mug in one go...

... Regretting it almost instantly.

"It's spicy!" he spluttered and coughed viciously, eyes tearing up, "Were you trying to poison me, Sophie?! What did you put in there?"

"I told you," she answered with a chuckle, "It's my magic potion. The ingredients are secret... But I can see you're already getting better."

"I'm certainly not...!" he coughed out, scowling.

His irritation, however, was met only with another knowing smirk, which time proved to be fully justified; for, as if by magic, the moving castle was spared any more agonized sighs or wails... For the rest of the day, at least.


End file.
